Healing the Children vols return from Colombia

Published 6:56 pm, Wednesday, May 8, 2013

An 18-member volunteer team from Healing the Children Northeast, based in New Milford, returned recently from Cartagena, Colombia.

The team provided free cleft lip surgeries to children in desperate need of medical assistance.

The volunteer team of surgeons, operating room nurses, anesthesiologists, PACU team, and ancillary staff were collectively from Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Texas, including residents from Harvard and the University of Michigan.

Of the 217 patients screened during Healing's 10-day stay, team members treated 68 patients and performed 74 cleft procedures in all.

The total value of medical in-kind services donated by the team members was estimated at $221,500.